CHINA: Mazda sees recovery ahead for Japanese brands

Mazda sees recovery in the first quarter of next l year in the Chinese market for Japanese brands hit hard by anti-Japan sentiment in China.

Speaking at the Guangzhou Motor Show, Mazda China CEO Noriaki Yamada said that he believes that Chinese sales will recover in the first quarter of 2013. "We hope that demand for Japanese vehicles [in China] will recover to normal levels by next April," Mr Yamada told local media.

Mazda has already reduced its China sales target for the year from 250,000 units to 185,000 units. However, Mazda's global sales target of 1.25m vehicles for the year has not been reduced, with the company maintaining that higher sales elsewhere in Asia have helped to offset lower sales in China.

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